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Jason had no idea how he’d ended up here, not really. His life had always been crazy like this, constantly moving from one thing to the next due to other people’s actions and decisions. Whether it was because of Juno, his duties as praetor, or even his friends, there wasn’t much that he could claim to have a say on. Which, as one of the two most powerful people at Camp Jupiter, was sort of comical.
Despite the fact that he had absolutely no say so on where this prophecy took him, he was trying to make the most of it. And if he was still struggling to get his bearings, that was his business. Living on the Argo II was strange even before Hazel, Frank, and the infamous Percy Jackson had joined the crew, but now Jason didn't know if he would ever get used to the constant reminder that home was not where he thought it was.
Bits and pieces of life in New Rome came back, soft flashes amid the usual chaos of demigod dreams. Praetorship, the Fifth Cohort, the constant pressure of being Juno's golden boy, stressful and sleepless nights spent crying until his throat was raw. A small part of him was grateful that he couldn't remember the majority of it, but the heartbreak in Reyna's eyes when he couldn't recognize her was going to haunt him for a long time.
Still, things could be worse. He could be Percy Jackson, after all.
Jason didn't know what to think of the notorious son of Poseidon. Percy was as stubborn and as stupid as Annabeth had described, but there was an air of brilliance to him that Jason just hadn't expected. He obviously had to be smart to be a respectable leader, but his definition of a good idea differed greatly from Jason’s. He would have taken the time to explore all of his options, while Percy would jump right into the fray without a second thought.
Or at least, the old Jason would. The old Jason would have thought about how his decisions would reflect on him—would the gods be proud of what he was about to do? Would the legion send him pitying glares for making the wrong choice? Percy didn't seem to care about the gods' opinions of him; he did what he wanted anyway, regardless of who was watching. It was something that Jason was envious of.
That envy was what led him to the mess hall that night, in search of something familiar to hold onto. Thoughts like these often kept him up, and there was little that he could do to stop them. A midnight snack was something to focus on, however, so he would take any distraction, as little as it may be. He was surprised to see Percy sitting at one of the tables, looking lost in thought as he nursed a mysterious blue drink.
“What is it with you and blue food?” Jason asked by way of greeting, retrieving one of the magical cups for a drink of his own. The son of Poseidon jumped at the sudden noise, shoulders tensing as his green eyes shot up to look at the blonde.
“Didn’t anyone teach you not to sneak up on people?” he questioned, scowling around his straw as he grumpily took another sip. “Why are you even awake? It's like three am.”
“Nope; raised by wolves, remember?” the son of Jupiter teased, taking a seat next to him and ignoring his grimace. “Couldn’t sleep. What about you?”
“Same.” he said in response, cracking a small smile at Jason's shitty attempt at a joke. “Whatcha gonna ask for?”
“I'm not sure.” Jason replied, staring down at his empty cup. “I don't have anything that’s like, nostalgic, ya know?”
Percy hummed, before taking the glass in his hand.
“Do you trust me?”
“That depends.” the blonde said honestly, his scar quirking up as he desperately tried not to smile.
“On what?”
“On what we’re talking about. Like, in general? Because that’s up for debate.” he laughed as Percy shoved his shoulder. “I do, however, trust you with my life, bro.”
“That's… surprisingly sweet.”
If Jason tried hard enough, he could almost make out a hint of pink gracing Percy's features. His ears were certainly reddening, as if he wasn’t used to being complimented. ( Which, if you asked Jason, was stupid. Someone as attractive and talented as Percy was struggling with compliments? Absolutely illegal. )
“So what am I trusting you with this time, Jackson?” he asked, looking at the other demigod for a little too long to be considered normal. Percy didn’t comment on it, though, so Jason let himself shamelessly check him out. Annabeth's descriptions of her best friend did not do him justice, because Percy was so much prettier than expected. The son of Jupiter’s heart did a little flip as the other demigod smirked at him, his eyes lighting up with mischief in a way that should not have been so hot.
Percy Jackson was going to be the fucking death of him.
“Let me choose a drink for you.” he said with a raised eyebrow, as if explicitly asking for permission was a foreign concept to him. And from the little he truly knew about him, maybe it was. “'Promise it’ll be good.”
“Why not?” Jason shrugged, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. “Knock yourself out.”
Percy simply hummed in response, whispering his drink of choice to the cup before handing it over to the blonde. It was warm in his palms, steam rising from it as it magically filled to the top with a brown, chocolatey liquid. Jason opened his mouth to ask what it was, but the son of Poseidon interrupted him.
“Try it first.”
As much as he wanted to ignore the command just to spite Percy, Jason was unable to resist blowing at the steam for a moment before taking a careful sip. The distinct taste of hot chocolate greeted his tongue, but it was so much better than any he’d ever had before. It filled him with a warmth he’d never quite experienced, and he briefly wondered if he was going insane.
“It’s my mom’s recipe. It was my abuela's first, but mom made it her own.” Percy said softly, staring down at his own drink. “If I ever feel lost, I ask her to make it; doesn’t really matter what time of year it is—she’s always willing to indulge me.”
“It’s delicious.” Jason replied simply, slowly sipping at the hot liquid as the son of Poseidon spoke.
“You’ve looked lost lately.” Percy continued, lifting his gaze to meet Jason’s. “I mean, I guess we all have, but you especially.”
The blonde’s breath hitched as green eyes practically bore into his soul. His mouth went dry, and he struggled to swallow down the lump in his throat.
“And I get it, y’know? Hera really did a number on us when she took away our memories.”
Try as he might, Jason couldn’t find his voice; he could only nod to let him know that he was still listening.
“So, I dunno…” Percy paused, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment before he stared back down at his cup. “I just figured you’d appreciate it.”
“I do.” the son of Jupiter said, cracking a smile before he took another sip. “It means a lot that you, like, give a shit.”
The other demigod snorted at that, shaking his head with a smile of his own.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you swearing; you look like fucking Captain America, so I always expect you to talk like him too.”
“Well, I live to disappoint.” Jason deadpanned, his content grin betraying his sarcastic tone. Percy snorted again, his giggles making his shoulders shake.
“I needed this.” he admitted after the laughter died down, sighing softly before drinking more of his hot chocolate. “Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in what everyone wants me to be, so I don’t get to really breathe that often, ya know?”
“I get it.” the blonde replied, gently bumping Percy’s shoulder with his own. “Nothing quite like being a child of the Big Three, yeah?”
“Yeah…” a pause. “It’s nice to feel less alone, though.”
“Yes,” Jason agreed with a nod of his head, looking at the son of Poseidon as if he was really seeing him for the first time. “Yes, it is.”
As a comfortable silence overtook the two of them, he found that he’d gotten Percy all wrong. Sure, Percy Jackson was impulsive, and brash, and chaotic, but he was human. He was a human being who felt loneliness and loss and anger and rage just like Jason did. Too much was expected of him, too, and Jason’s heart did something funny in his chest at the realization that the two of them really weren’t so different after all.
They were the sky and the sea, but they weren’t night and day.
He took another sip of his drink, fully prepared to blame the flush on his cheeks on the warmth of the Mexican hot chocolate. It was silly, to develop a little crush in the middle of a war, but Jason always did like challenging himself.
If he got to continue seeing Percy smile as wide as he did right now, then he really didn’t mind.
“Let’s make a habit out of this, yeah?” he blurted before he could bite his tongue, blush darkening as sea green eyes met electric blue.
“You got it, Superman.” Percy said with a laugh, grinning and lifting up his cup.
“If I’m Clark Kent, then you have to be Arthur Curry.” Jason teased, clinking his cup against the son of Poseidon’s.
“How do you even know Aquaman’s name? Weren’t you raised by wolves?”
“I have my ways.”
As they continued chatting well into the morning, Jason decided that, yes, Percy was worth all of the stress and panic that came with hiding a crush from someone. He was worth everything.